Australian Senate approves credit card ban for online gambling

The measure is expected to come into force within six months.

Australia.- The Australian Senate has today approved legislation to prohibit the use of credit cards for online gambling. A near-blanket ban is now set to come into effect within six months.

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2023 was introduced in September and was passed by Australia’s House of Representatives last month. It bans using credit cards, credit-related products and digital currencies for online gambling in Australia, expanding an existing ban applying to land-based gambling.

Companies failing to enforce the ban could face fines exceeding AU$234,000. The media watchdog will enforce compliance.

Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) celebrated the news. CEO Kai Cantwell said: “This is an important measure to protect customers and their loved ones, making it easier for people to stay in control of their own gambling behaviour. It will complement the existing offering of safer gambling account management tools by RWA members to customers to help them stay in control of their betting.”

However, Cantwell added: “It is disappointing to see that other forms of gambling such as lotteries and keno have been exempted from the ban, especially when lotteries are the most prevalent form of gambling in Australia and are commonly accessed by people in low-socioeconomic communities.”

“Lotteries were also exempt from the National Self Exclusion Register, Betstop, meaning that Australians who have self-excluded from online gambling are not precluded from gambling up to $10,000 online at a time through lotteries.”